Chronicles of the Frozen Shade: 2014

Okay, so despite my rather heavy workload here in China, I've managed to get another chapter written. Given that my days off are few and my hours exhausting, I'm not surprised it took this long, but I am a bit disappointed. That being said, I would like to talk a little bit about my writing process, due largely to how this chapter ends before I post the chapter itself. You see, while it may not be clear here, it is my goal, during my writing process, to keep each chapter under 20 pages. 21 pages is, I believe, the maximum I let a chapter go before I decide that we need to break it up. This is both for my sake and the reader's sake because stopping points are good, just like in any television show, any video game, or book, we cannot keep going indefinitely and I for one do not like stopping mid sentence or mid action. So, I wanted to, when I started re-writing and revising this story, to keep it to a certain length so that chapters would not drag on for people. This is why you have seen a lot of "supplementary chapters" With this new writing style, I have tried to add more character depth, detail in the world around the characters, detail in how actions play out, and dialogue to try and flesh out the story without spelling things out. This often means that chapters which were short or at least shorter in the original draft have been fleshed out or merged with others to create new chapters. Sometimes I find that we need more information to connect the dots, so to speak, so I have tried to do that as well. So, supplementary chapters happen for this very reason, HOWEVER, there is another reason.

It is to make it easier for me to edit. I daresay that I am not the world's greatest editor by any means, however I find it easier to edit complete chunks rather than editing part of a chapter, then giving up and returning a week later to edit it with a different mindset...I would like to get it done in one sitting. This is another reason why the page length is there and why some chapters get broken up. I make notes of chapters that are new with the .5 or .75 moniker because it helps me when I need to go back to the source material to see if I want to add/change/re-work something, which I often do.

The reason I'm saying all this? Well, I had to break this chapter up, both for a good reveal at the end and for page length. So, next time will be chapter 20.75

Confusing...and I'm sorry for that. But hey, this isn't a for profit blog and few people read it so...I can kinda do what I want. I do feel bad for confusing the fans who stick with me though. Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter 20.5: Clash.

Chapter 20.5: Clash

Mina's eyes bulged in their sockets when she saw Agni. Her body trembled and her breathing hastened, growing more and more ragged with each passing second that she watched. A chill ran down her spine and cold sweat erupted from all her pores as her heart throbbed, threatening to burst free of its confines. Though she wanted to turn away, Mina found herself unable to move, transfixed by Agni's monstrous grin, which burned itself into her eyes.

A hand squeezed Mina's shoulder and the fourteen year old girl nearly leapt out of her skin. Whipping her head around, she saw Vincent looking down at her with a furrowed brow. "Take a deep breath," the teythen whispered.

Swallowing hard, Mina forced herself to inhale, slowly, until her lungs were ready to burst. When she exhaled, her body relaxed slightly and she felt the thumping in her chest slow. It took a great deal of effort, but Mina managed to raise her hand to her heart. Though she could hear voices on the other side of the glass, she could not register what they were saying over the sound of her own heartbeat.

"Again," Vincent said.

Taking another breath, Mina felt the fear wound up within her come undone all at once. She dropped to her hands and knees and lost sight of Agni. Her heart still pounded in her chest, but it was slower than before and her breathing began to normalize. Feeling a tear form in the corner of her eye, Mina looked to Vincent for support and the teythen knelt down next to her.

"It's alright to be scared, Mina," he said, dabbing at her eyes with his white cloak, "But don't let that rule you. I know that Agni has done terrible things to you...but he only has power over you if you let him."

"Tccch, easy ta say..." Yuka grunted.

Glancing behind her, Mina saw Yuka walk over to the windows and put her hand against the frosted glass. She moved stiffly and her eyes were wide, though not quite as frantic as Mina's had been. "Yuka?" Mina managed to croak.

"Ten years later an the bastard's still got that stupid smirk," Yuka spat. "He don't give an aurox shit about all the people he's killed."

"Did you think we would be next?" Vincent murmured, "Is that why you followed me?"

Resting her forehead against the glass, Yuka let out a sigh. "Can ya blame me?"

Turning towards the windows, Vincent narrowed his eyes.

"I can't," Mina said, shaking her head as she stumbled to her feet. Vincent shot her a very tired frown and shook his head.

"No...I suppose I can't either," he muttered.

"So, that's him?" Celine made her way over to Mina, who felt the tan skinned girl's fingers wrap around her own. Without looking through the glass, Mina nodded. "Hey, princess!" Celine called, "You ought to see this!"

Looking behind her, Mina saw Daryl wrapping Feo's wing in some torn curtain shreds as she ran her glowing silver hand over the charred feathers. Looking up from the griffon, she patted his haunch and joined the others at the window. "Is...is he-" Daryl's voice stopped and her face froze in terror as she looked out the window.

"Yeah, he's here," Celine grunted. "Ugly bastard. Hope Aeon takes him down."

Mina felt a lump forming in her throat, but she raised her eyes and bitterly hissed, "Me too." Taking Daryl's hands, Mina squeezed them both tightly as the three of them looked out the windows together.

Outside, Kinana's nails had turned into curved pink claws and she raised them in front of her, poised to strike should Agni get too close, however Aeon remained as he always was, floating stoically in one place with both hands folded behind his back. Across from them, Agni let one hand hang limp at his side while he extended the other in Aeon's direction, flicking his long claws back and forth.

"Give her to me and I will leave here peacefully," Agni growled, the sinister smile never leaving his face. His voice seemed to shake the ice that was caked over the windows Mina and the others were looking through. It was strong and forceful, like a fiery explosion full of arrogance and disdain.

Mina's heart stopped briefly when she heard his words, but she forced herself to take a breath and pressed her face against the window. "Did...did anyone else hear what he said?!" she stammered, looking back at her friends.

"Yeah," Celine nodded, her eyes narrowing. "He's after someone."

"You...you don't think..." Daryl stammered, looking down at Mina, who felt her eyes widen. "N-No, of course not!" she quickly interjected, shaking her head and holding Mina's hand to her own heart, "Why would a lich be looking for us, haha?!" she let out a nervous laugh.

"H-he ain't..." Yuka bit her thumb and grimaced, "Least he ain't supposed ta be...he's supposed ta be lookin for an item, not a person," she mused, letting her hand fall to the saw blade attached to her wrist.

"I..." Mina started to say.

"I refuse," Aeon's voice was as cold as ever, but despite its detachment, it was raised to match Agni's volume and echoed through the glass windows. Mina felt her breath catch in the back of her throat and blushed slightly, her eyes turning towards Aeon's back.

"Then I will burn this place to the ground to find her! I know she is here!" Agni shouted, holding a hand out to each side, pillars of flame sparking to life within each palm.

Raising his hand, Aeon's bony fingertips sparked with white light and the silhouette of a large, two handed broadsword was etched into the air with lightning speed. Grasping the silhouette, ice flowed out of Aeon's hand and covered the sword, transforming it from an array of lights to a massive, blue hued blade, ringed in frost.

"Kinana," Aeon murmured.

"I'm ready," Kinana said, crossing her arms, curved nails at the ready.

Heaving his icy broadsword over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing, Aeon charged forward, with Kinana right behind him, her claws raised.

"So, that's how you want to play? Ha!" Agni let out an explosive laugh, his legs skittering clear of Aeon's first slash before spinning around and batting Kinana's claws away with one of his legs, wreathed in flames. He threw her backwards into the valley's wall before extending his hand and shooting a torrent of hot lava straight at Aeon.

Aeon performed an underhanded slice through the lava, splitting it around him. Though his blade sizzled and the ice encasing it began to melt, the sword held strong. The ground for several meters to Aeon's left and right, however, dissolved under the heat of the lava, carving two huge gashes in the rocky earth.

Without looking back at Kinana, Aeon flew towards Agni once again. A sphere of red light was forming within Agni's hand as the two liches approached. "Wielder of the flaming sword, whose kingdom shines brighter than the eye of the goddess! King of flames, who will reduce all of creation to ash, I trade my fire for your blade! Surtr!" Agni chanted aloud and the sphere seemed to become engulfed in flames. Before Agni could throw it, however, Aeon opened his mouth and a wave of ice surged forward, through the flames that wreathed Agni's body, and encased his hand in ice.

The fiery lich barely had time to look down at his frozen hand before Aeon was upon him, his sword ready to cleave through Agni's skull. However, it froze in midair, struggling against a mass of cerulean flames that had formed out of Agni's free hand.

"Hmmph...I underestimated you," Agni snarled, as white light shot out of his own finger tips, wrapping itself around the blue flames that held Aeon back in the form of a massive scythe, easily ten feet long. With one deft movement, he sliced through Aeon's sword and cut him diagonally across the chest. "However...I think you've made a mistake," he sneered.

"Oh, goddess..." Mina whispered to herself, holding her hand over her mouth.

"Bastard's strong," Yuka bit her lip.

"Yeah," Celine said, leaning forward and pointing out of the fortress's window, "But I don't think Aeon's done yet."

Aeon put a hand over the cut, which revealed his azure armor and blue tinged skin underneath. His blade had been shorn completely in half, however he levied it at Agni and charged once again. The lich raised his scythe of sapphire flames and prepared to strike Aeon, but it hesitated as something thin and black wrapped itself around the scythe. With Agni momentarily distracted, Aeon managed to drive what remained of his sword through Agni's skull, before cupping his hands together and pressing them against Agni's chest. A blizzard burst forth from Aeon's hands with explosive force, shooting Agni backwards as wave after wave of ice crashed into the lich, pinning him against the floor of the valley.

With Agni gone, Mina could see that frozen in place by Aeon's attack was Kinana, her tail suspended in midair, where it had latched onto Agni's scythe and broken into several pieces from the ferocious blizzard.

"Miss Kinana..." Mina gasped.

Without looking back, Aeon floated forward. Raising both hands, his fingers sparked with white light and hundreds of silhouettes of great swords, spears, maces, and other weapons formed in the air.

"Is...is he just going to leave her?" Daryl stammered, looking from Vincent to Yuka. Vincent seemed unmoved, but Yuka's eyes twitched and looked away from the other three girls. Their attention was drawn back to the battle as the air outside began to sparkle.

From the fortress window, Vincent and the four girls watched as ice and snow radiated out from Aeon, crystallizing the air around him. It climbed along the valley floor, only stopping when it reached the crater Agni had been thrown into. A pillar of flames erupted out of the ground and Agni crawled forth, seemingly undamaged. There was no trace of the sword wound in his elongated skill, nor did he seem even remotely phased by Aeon's attack. The frozen red sphere was still clutched in his hand.

Agni looked up just as the icy air enveloped the hundreds of silhouettes of weapons that hung above him. Lowering his hands, Aeon turned the frozen weapons on Agni, and they shot forward.

Flames curled around Agni's claws and he slashed at the approaching weapons, sending giant swathes of curved flames at them, melting most weapons before they could reach him. A few dozen made their way through, slamming against Agni's bones and revealing ashen human skin underneath before lava spewed out of the lich's cracked bones, reforming them.

"Enough of these games!" Agni shrieked, his voice taking the form of a beam of fire, aimed straight at Aeon. The world seemed to flicker as Aeon's body momentarily glowed with all the colors of the rainbow, and he vanished. The beam of flame tore past Mina and the others, through a mountain that was a few hundred feet to their left. It melted a hole through the middle of the mountain, and the peak soon collapsed into smoldering rubble.

"What?!" Agni glowered at Aeon as he appeared out of nowhere in front of the lich. Curling his hand around the orb in Agni's frozen hand, Aeon snapped it off and crushed it into dust. "Heh...stupid fool!" Agni snarled, a sphere of flame fast extending from his body and melting everything it touched. Before Mina or the others could blink, Aeon raised his hand and formed a shield of rock in front of him. It compressed tightly together as the sphere of flame extended out from Agni, melting everything around him into a large pool of lava. Aeon's stone shield held fast, despite the heat, even as the sphere pushed him backwards. When the rock finally began to melt, he darted out from behind it and floated over to Kinana, who had melted out of the ice thanks to Agni's attack.

"Did...did you stop his conjuring?" she panted, casting a despondent glance towards her cracked and broken tail.

"For now," Aeon said, helping her up. "Are you prepared?"

Even from where she was standing, Mina could see a smile cross Kinana's face and she nodded. "You have to ask?" Kinana grinned, her violet nails extending into claws once again.

"Hmmhmm, I suppose not," Aeon chuckled, floating in place.

Without warning, the sphere of flame surrounding Agni stopped expanding. It dissipated within moments, leaving nothing but molten rock all around the fiery lich. Agni stood on the molten soup as if it were solid ground and smirked at the pair.

"Go," Aeon hissed, raising both hands and shooting a stream of compressed water at Agni. The lich flicked his wrist and lava shot up to intercept the water. Mina and the others lost sight of Agni once the water hit the lava, as a screen of steam was kicked up all around the lich. However, even within the steam, Agni's body glowed orange and red, like a shining beacon to all that he was still there.

Squatting to the ground, Kinana launched herself forward, her wings flapping furiously as she pierced the veil of mist. However, alongside the glowing red and orange of Agni's body was a blue light that shone even brighter. Without warning, a fierce gale burst forth from within the steam and dissipated it.

Mina and the others' eyes widened as they saw, through the steam, Kinana impaled on Agni's cerulean scythe. "Miss Kinana!!!" Mina shrieked, her voice reverberating through the room.

"He...he sent her to her death!" Celine snarled.

"She'll live!" Yuka mumbled, glaring out at the scene before them, "She's under contract, so she'll go home before she's killed, but..."

"But still...Dem talked about his Goetians like they were friends...how could Aeon-" Daryl grunted, looking down at the battlefield. "Wait...where'd he go?!"

Turning their eyes towards the battleground, they saw that Aeon had vanished.

Agni's hideous laughter drowned out any further conversation. "Haha, what's the matter, Frozen Shade? Did you get scared and run?! Or are you going to safeguard your little investment and abandon this trollop?!"

"Gah!" Kinana coughed up blood and let out a shriek as Agni twisted his scythe in her chest wound.

"Miss Kinana..." Mina whispered to herself so that none of the others could hear, "Is this what you were telling me about before?"

"Still glad you decided to stick with him?" Agni snorted, twisting his scythe deeper into the Goetian's chest.

Vincent smirked and let out a chuckle, while Kinana, impaled as she was, did the same.

"Fool," they said simultaneously.

Aeon appeared out of thin air behind Agni, his body momentarily shimmering with rainbow colored light. He grabbed Agni's skull with one hand and planted his other in the lich's back. Black light poured out of Aeon's fingers, enveloping Agni before he could react. The cloak of flames surrounding him vanished into embers as Agni's bones began to melt away. The scythe holding Kinana in place also vanished, though it took every bit of strength the succubus had to keep flapping her wings to avoid falling into the pool of molten rock beneath her.

Agni's skeletal body dissolved to reveal a man with skin partially burnt black and partially white from the ash which clung to it. He wore leather armor that was similarly burned and had thin black hair down to his neck, with a wild black beard to match. A leather eye patch covered one eye, while the other glared daggers at Aeon.

"You wretch!" Tiny flames sprang up all over the man, but little more happened as Aeon removed his hand from the man's skull. Light flared on Aeon's fingers and he began to engrave runes into the man's flesh while still pouring black light into the man's back.

"Be sealed," Aeon said, his voice carrying through the valley.

"He's...sealing him?" Daryl mumbled. "Can...can he do that?!"

"The more preparation one has to craft a seal, the stronger it will be," Vincent muttered, narrowing his eyes at the scene unfolding before them, "Aeon's managed to pierce the cloak of magic that Agni protects his human body with using void magic, but..."

"He's doin this on the spot. It ain't gonna stop him. At best, it'll buy us some time," Yuka cut him off and looked over at Vincent. "Ya really think the council'll come?"

"Dem'll pull through," Vincent replied, brooking no further questions.

"He should just kill him..." Mina growled, balling her hands into fists.

"Something tells me he would if he could..." Celine retorted.

"Even with his cloak of magic gone, Agni still hasn't used that much power. The second he'd move to attack, Agni could break free and regenerate," Vincent said. "For now, this is the only option."

While they were speaking, Aeon had engraved runes of light all over Agni's human body. Dozens of the tiny, shimmering white seals adorned his legs, arms, torso, and head. With one quick movement, Aeon pulled away from Agni and immediately, lava began to ooze out of the fiery lich's skin, forming a skeletal armor around his flesh. However, Aeon clapped his hands together and white chains sprouted out of the runes on Agni, encircling his human body and binding it in place. Despite the lava which ate away at them and Agni's own struggling, they seemed to hold.

Raising both hands, Aeon carved several more seals of light into the air and one giant emblem underneath Agni. More chains shot out of those in the air, pulling Agni's bonds taut, while the giant emblem created a field of light all around Agni, locking him inside.

His work done, Aeon floated over to Kinana, who was struggling to keep herself afloat, and took her into his arms. "That should buy us a little time, at least," he said.

"Heh...I underestimated you again, Aeon," Agni's human form smirked and began to laugh. "However, I have to say that I'm disappointed. I'd always wanted a chance to fight you as equals. To show you how pathetic your idealistic posturing was, you wretched garm of Dezolis. Yet here you are, fighting like a coward whose only goal is to prevent his inevitable death. That is not the way to true power."

"You talk too much," Aeon murmured, turning away from Agni as he continued to ramble.

"Oh, do I?" Agni chuckled, "Forgive me. I'm merely keeping you distracted while my compatriot frees me."

Aeon turned just in time to see the lava underneath Agni rise up and engulf him entirely. The chains of light that had bound him in place slowly eroded, melting into the lava, before the seal beneath Agni shattered from the strain. Out of the lava, Agni strode forth on his four, spindly legs, once again clad in his skeletal form.

"I may have overestimated your courage, but only a fool takes another council member lightly," Agni hissed. "I think, however, this is where we shall end it."

Reaching back, Agni grabbed the lava that had surged up behind him and dragged more of it out of the ground. Raising his hands over his head, Agni molded the lava into a gigantic ball of molten rock, which grew larger as more and more lava flowed into it from the ground.

"Kinana," Aeon held up one hand and a mystic circle with a heart in the center formed underneath her.

"No..." Kinana grunted and grabbed Aeon's hand, causing the circle to disappear. "Not yet. There's still one more thing I can do." The lich nodded as the ball of molten lava grew so large that its shadow blocked out the sky. It towered over them, easily the length and width of Gesthal itself.

"Said your goodbyes?" Agni smirked. "Splendid. Now, die!" Flinging his hands forward, Agni sent the giant flaming ball hurtling towards Aeon and Kinana.

Dropping the succubi in his arms, Aeon shot backwards, stopping only a few feet from the fort Mina and the others had taken shelter in. The five at the windows watched as the lich held both hands out to his side. The mountains around him began to crumble, their rocks flying towards Aeon and compressing together, fusing tighter and tighter until they'd formed a pair of gigantic stone arms over Aeon's skeletal hands. Six icy tendrils, not unlike skeletal wings, sprouted from Aeon's back and buried themselves in the ground, anchoring him as he raised the gigantic stone hands to the ball of flames and pressed against it with all the strength he could muster. Aeon's icy wings began to skitter backwards from the force they were trying to stop, but the lich held strong and the molten sphere began to slow, even as the fingers of his earthen hands began to melt under the heat of the ball of lava.

Mina's eyes widened as size and the light from the flaming sphere dwarfed the moon, equaling the sun in how dazzlingly brilliant it was. She turned to Vincent, whose twitching eyes were fixed on Aeon's back, before glancing at Celine, Daryl, and Yuka, all watching awestruck.

"I...I think it's going to miss us," Daryl stammered, wiping at her eyes. "Y-yeah! The way it's falling, it'll pass over us!" The relief was palpable in her voice, but no one else shared her joy.

"Then it'll hit outside Gesthal," Mina murmured.

"If it doesn't it the town itself," Celine grunted. "No wonder you evacuated everyone," she added, nodding at Vincent.

"Wait...look!" Yuka pointed out the window as what remained of the Keval mountains rose up around Aeon. Even though his back was turned, green flames blazed out of his eye sockets so brightly that the glow could be seen from behind. The remaining peaks formed a cradle around the flaming sphere, temporarily holding it at bay with the assistance of Aeon's stony hands.

"A valiant effort," Agni sneered, floating into sight just below the sphere, "But ultimately pointless..." he aimed a single finger at Aeon. Orange flames sparked to life from the tip of Agni's finger, turning a brilliant blue before finally glowing black. The lich took aim, failing to notice a figure approach him from behind.

Mina sucked in a gasp when she saw Kinana's claws bury themselves in Agni's skull, while her free hand grabbed his flaming finger and her legs wrapped around the lich's spindly waist. An unholy light began to radiate from her pink nails, pouring into Agni's skull.

"Let's see just what memories you've forsaken for this power, Molten Zombie!" she screamed, as pink light shot out of Agni's eye socket.

The lich let out a fearsome howl and began to writhe in Kinana's grasp. The flames vanished from his finger, instead extending around him to engulf Kinana's body. "Get off me!" Agni shrieked, flailing wildly at Kinana Despite the fire which licked at her flesh and burnt away her clothing, the succubus refused to let go.

With Agni distracted, Aeon raised his head and a whirlwind of ice and snow burst out of his mouth, slowly freezing over the molten sphere that he was keeping at bay. The mountains he had used to stop it's descent began to crack and crumble as the extreme heat turned cold shattered their foundations. However within seconds, the light from the ball of lava had been extinguished and Aeon held in his hands a giant chunk of frozen rock. With Kinana still clinging to Agni, he ponderously began to force the sphere downwards.

Reaching around to his back, Agni managed to grab Kinana's hair and pulled her off him, holding her at arms length as his wounds closed. "Let me introduce you to the true meaning of pain, you-!" Agni's words failed him as the shadow of the ball of ice caught his attention. Flames burst out of the front of Agni in an attempt to push him away from the frozen sphere, but Kinana grabbed his hand and fluttered her tattered wings in one last attempt to hold him in place. It succeeded. The giant ball of ice crashed into Agni and Kinana, slamming them into the ground below.

The earth shook as a massive shockwave extended out from the point of impact in all directions. With one quick motion, Vincent pushed the four girls next to him back and flung out his hands, forming an invisible barrier just outside the window as the force of the impact shattered the ice reinforcing it, stopped only by the strength of Vincent's will. The teythen dropped to one knee as the shockwave subsided, replaced by a white mist that was kicked up by the crash.

The four girls next to Vincent stood in stunned silence. The white mist had obscured almost everything. Only the faint green flicker of the flames in Aeon's eye sockets could be seen outside.

"He...he really dropped it on her!" Celine panted when she found her voice.

"I-is it over?" Daryl whispered.

"The bastard dropped that thing on Kinana!" Celine repeated, louder than before. Clutching her hands to her heart, she turned to Yuka, but the neeg was still rooted to the spot. "He didn't even hesitate..." she mumbled to herself.

"She'll live, remember?" Daryl chimed in. "She was probably sent back to Goetia, so-"

"Even so, he betrayed her! He just let her-"

"No..." Mina shook her head, her quiet voice cutting through Celine's angry ramblings. "I...I don't think she saw it that way," Mina said, pressing her hands to her heart.

"But...who does that?!" Celine grunted, trembling in place as she did so, "I...I can't imagine someone being alright with betrayal...I mean...if you were lucky enough to have someone you can trust, then-"

"Then...maybe it wasn't a betrayal," Mina mumbled, taking Celine's hands. "Miss Kinana told me that there were no secrets between her and Aeon and that..." she stopped when the others turned to her. Yuka and Daryl's eyes were filled with confusion as well as shock, while Celine seemed to be shaken to her core. Vincent's eyes held a hint of a amusement and the ghost of a smile was on his lips. Swallowing hard, Mina continued, "That's why she could do it. It wasn't a surprise to her, I think." Mina sighed and wiped away a tear in the corner of her eye.

"Hmph, secrets or no, blind loyalty can make one sacrifice their life for another on command," Vincent said, fishing a flask out of his white cloak and downing it in an instant to stop his own trembling. "But true understanding allows two to act as one. In that regard, not even Nerise or I can compare to Kinana."

Silence momentarily hung over the five of them. It was only broken when Feo, the griffon let out a pitiful warble. The girls turned to look and saw him flexing his bandaged wing, which was still badly burned.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Daryl mumbled, slowly stumbling over to him. "Could you have pulled the skin open?" she said as she unwound the bandages.

"So...is it over?" Celine said, surreptitiously taking Mina's hand.

"No," Mina and Yuka said in unison.

"No," Mina said again on her own, "I don't think that was enough to do it."

Seconds ticked by slowly until, through the icy mist outside, a tiny flame sparked to life. The spark erupted into a gigantic pillar of fire and lava shot into the air, sweeping away the mist that had hidden the battlefield.

The pillar had formed within the crater created by the giant ball of ice. Slowly, the shattered, ice flecked earth around the crater began to melt. The pillar of flames rose up on a bed of lava and Agni stepped forward. The cracks which peppered his body had already begun to mend as lava seeped into them from all around him. The smirk which had been plastered on his face moments before was nowhere to be seen, however the piercing blue flames in his single eye socket still shone brightly. It was fixed on Aeon, bereft of his frozen wings and floating calmly on the other side of the battlefield.

"Heh," Agni snorted, holding out his hand in front of him. In an instant, white lines formed into a gigantic scythe which became engulfed in azure flames. Spinning the scythe over his head, Agni leveled it at Aeon. "Typical. For all your posturing about keeping the peace, you're just as willing to throw away your comrades lives as I am."

"I have said it before. You talk too much," Aeon retorted, holding out his own hand and forming a broadsword made of ice. Before he had finished, Agni charged at him, streaking through the air on a stream of lava. Raising his free hand, Aeon pulled a large chunk of rock out of the ground. Closing his hand into a fist, the rock shrank in size, compressing itself tightly together, before attaching to Aeon's arm. The lich blocked Agni's scythe with his make shift shield before grabbing his broadsword and batting it aside.

The two separated before charging once more. They streaked past one another, the sound of metal on metal and the sizzle of fire on ice and stone ringing around them. With each blow, they moved faster and faster, Agni surfing towards Aeon on his stream of lava, while Aeon flew through the air. Within seconds they were little more than a pair of red and blue lights, darting around the battlefield, clashing as they passed.

"I must say, I'm surprised," Agni sneered, after a few passes. Wiping his scythe around, he sent a gash of sapphire flames straight towards the Aeon.

Raising his crumbling and melted stone shield, Aeon blocked the attack before spinning around and parrying a slash from Agni's scythe, as he appeared behind him. The fiery lich skittered away before rising back into the air. Each of his spindly legs ignited with flame and he held them out as straight as they would go before spinning towards Aeon, creating a flaming pinwheel. This pinwheel shot across the ground and tore a chunk out of Aeon's ribcage, revealing his cerulean armor underneath the bone.

The wound began to ice over as Agni spun around, leapt into the air, collided with Aeon's broadsword, and pushed him back. "I never thought you would turn on your allies. You seem perfectly content to slaughter others for this pitiful peace the council has forced us to endure," Agni's voice rang out as he pressed his attack against Aeon, "Yet striking down one of your own? Even if she will recover, that must have hurt," he laughed, "I wonder...did it hurt as much as killing your little apprentice's friends?"

For an instant, the flames in Aeon's eyes expanded. He dropped his sword and let Agni's flaming legs pierce through him, however before Agni was all the way through, Aeon grabbed one leg, slung the fiery lich over his head and slammed him into the ground. With his bones cracked, and a few strands of blue hair poking out of his skull, Aeon pressed his palms together and a blast of ice burst forth from them. A stream of lava shot out of the earth and carried Agni clear of the blast, which was so powerful that it even froze the lava he was riding on, forcing the lich to jump to the ground. Turning on him, Aeon formed another blast of ice in his palms, while Agni clasped his hands together. Reeling back, Agni threw out his hands and a wave of blue flame, so large that it reached from one end of the valley to another, crashed against Aeon's ice blast, which matched the flames in size.

For a second, the world stood still before the fire and ice mingled in an explosion which threw Mina and the others from the windows. The windows of the fortress shattered, threatening to dump glass shards on them, however a thin screen of light formed over Mina, Yuka, Celine, and Vincent. Turning around, they saw Daryl behind them, her hands upraised and white light pouring out of them.

"So much for it being over," she panted, sparing a single glance back at Feo's half bandaged wing, still awaiting the rest of her treatment.

With a flick of his wrist, Vincent's telekinesis sent the glass shards away and he pulled himself up before helping the others. "This is bad," he murmured. "They're using more and more power...if this keeps up-"

"What's the matter?" Agni's voice cut through their own words like flaming sword, "Did I strike a nerve?"

Even though frigid air was pouring in through the broken window frame, Mina and the others piled around it to hear what Agni and Aeon were talking about. Aeon floated, tranquil as ever, over ruined ground, while Agni stood atop an undulating pool of lava on the other side of the valley.

"I see," Aeon said, "Now it all makes sense."

"Does it now?" Agni chortled, "So glad to hear it. If you understand, then why not hand her over to me? After all, what is one neeg weighed against this precious "peace" of yours?"

Agni's words hung over them and slowly, Mina, Celine, and Daryl turned to Yuka, whose own eyes were fixed on the two liches. "M...Me?!" Yuka choked out.

"Bastard..." Vincent growled. "We should have seen this coming!"

"Come now, Aeon," Agni said, lowering himself to the ground and stepping onto solid rock. "I'm being quite generous with this offer. I won't even tell the Council that it was actually you who destroyed Canak's foundry and that you lied in your report to them. Just give me the girl and I will leave."

"My answer is unchanged," Aeon grunted, raising both hands. "I refuse."

"Come now...I don't even need to take possession of her. Why don't you keep her and work with me?" Agni held out a hand. "Volvaggion and I were listening to Canak's little lecture before you slaughtered him. His weapons, those...guns, was it? They could usher in a new age. The fires of conquest could sweep over Lucaria and Telnumbra could take it's rightful place as the ruler of Serano. After that, there would be no more need for treaties, agreements, or even wars. Is that not what you wish for?"

"The path of conquest is paved with the blood of hundreds of millions of people, Agni. Your path to power is one I never wish to take," Aeon retorted. "Tell the council if you wish. I will neither help you, nor shall I surrender Yuka to you."

"Heh," Agni shrugged before snapping his fingers at Aeon, "Worth a try, I suppose. Not that my word would hold any sway in the council. You've seen to that, haven't you?"

Aeon floated forward several paces as a pillar of flames shot out of the ground where he had been floating. "Are you finished?" Aeon muttered without a hint of anger.

"Not just yet..." Agni smirked, raising both hands. The lava behind him welled up and formed into a bulbous humanoid slime. It let out a burble that shook what remained of the mountains around them and reached a malformed hand towards the lich.

Slamming his fist against the ground, Aeon floated to the side, narrowly avoiding the hand as geysers of water shot out of the ground, cooling the creature's arm and face and hardening them into solid rock, which broke off from the rest of the lava as it pulled back into the pool behind Agni. Raking his fingers across the rock, Aeon ground it into dust within seconds. The dust swirled around him, carried on strong gusts of wind, and formed into a tornado. It expanded in size, sucking in more and more dust and grit. It spread out from Aeon, rising up to the sky, looking more like a sandstorm than a tornado.

"He was listening..." Yuka growled, glaring out at Agni as Aeon's dust storm grew larger and larger, "He knew...!"

"But he didn't bother to help Canak or the others," Mina sneered.

"Goddess dammitall!" Yuka sniffed, her arm reaching for the cord which would start her serrated saw blade spinning. "If he wanted ta help, he coulda saved Canak, but he just..."

"Hey!" Celine grabbed Yuka's arm. "Don't do anything stupid! If you go out there, you'll be killed!"

Yuka glowered at Celine, but nodded, turning back to the battle with the others.

Once the dust storm had enveloped almost a quarter of the valley, Aeon separated himself from it, grabbed the swirling mass of wind and dust as if it were cloth, and whipped it towards Agni, directing the base of the twister straight at the lich's skull. Agni created a screen of red light in front of him which held it back momentarily, however the dust clawed away at the screen, slowly eroding it until finally it shattered. Agni's body held fast against the wind, but the dust peeled his bones apart, bit by bit until he managed to raise a hand and smother the twister with a mass of lava.

When the wind subsided, Agni's body was cracked all over, missing an arm, and with part of his skull peeled away. Black hair stuck out of the opening in his skull along with an eye patch over ashen skin and a similarly ashen arm stuck out of his torso.

"Ultimately pointless," Agni spat, as the lava behind him rose up and covered his exposed parts, reforming the bone around his body. Brushing dust from his bones, the lich glared at Aeon, who was already surrounded by another twister. "Pointless...just like your idiotic posturing," Agni sneered, lava swirling up underneath him as he spoke before engulfing his bones, forming armor around him.

Aeon compressed the twister around him over his arm and shot towards Agni. The tornado formed a drill of wind that moved so fast it was only a blur to Mina and the others. Reeling back, Aeon struck at Agni, only to have the lava coated lich grab his hand. The wind pierced through Agni's fingers, however lava got caught up in the swirling wind and it slowed to a halt, with Aeon's arm caught in Agni's claws.

"I believe I am done with you," Agni smirked, grabbing Aeon's skull with his free hand and pulling him down to the ground.

Lava caked over Aeon's skull as Agni slammed it into the dirt. The fiery lich skittered along with unreal speed, dragging Aeon's head against the ground until the bones cracked and shattered. Aeon's frozen face was also dragged along as Agni began to laugh. Soon, Aeon's ribcage began to wear away as well. After a solid minute, Agni held up Aeon's battered body, with his torso and skull shorn away to reveal frost tinged human skin that was cracked and broken. From where Mina stood, it looked as if Aeon's head was little more than a stump.

"You bore me with your posturing," Agni snorted before tossing Aeon aside. "I wonder...how many have died in service to your pathetic aspirations of peace, Aeon?" Agni laughed, stepping on Aeon's body, his spindly legs piercing through Aeon's bones as he did so. "How many liches did you slay to gain entry to the council?" Agni said, taking a step and piercing through Aeon's spine, "How many Teythens did you kill to keep Austarine's farcical rule stable?" Agni took another step and his leg pierced Aeon's skeletal hand. "How many jela-vey did you butcher to save that doddering old king of Selvaria? How many Apocra, hunters, and nal-vey have you slain for that little 'home' of yours? How many Goetians did you butcher when you blew up DIS?" Agni continued chuckling as he stepped on Aeon, shattering what remained of his bone armor. "Heh...and just how many neeg did you kill, say...last week?"

Mina saw Yuka's eyes grow wide before narrowing into a hideous glare. "Bastard!" she shrieked, pulling out a sphere with a fuse in it. Scraping her saw blade against the cracked window frames, Yuka sparked the end of the fuse and tossed it at Agni. The lich looked up and opened his jaws, swallowing the sphere whole. It exploded within him, sending lava flying in all directions. Some headed towards Yuka, but Mina and Celine managed to pull her down before any could touch her, though the already cracked stone walls began to buckle from the heat which melted their supports.

"Well, well, well..." Agni snickered, stepping over Aeon's body and facing the fortress where Mina and the others were hiding. "She's here...haha, fantastic!" he screamed before leaping into the air.

Agni did not get far, as Aeon, in his human form, flipped onto his stomach and grabbed one of the lich's spindly legs with his frost bitten hand. Turning to face him, Agni held out a single hand. "I said I'm done with you! Begone!" Agni snarled, black flames shooting from his palm and engulfing Aeon. Though the girls could not see the him under the dark fire, it appeared as though Aeon's hand dissolved, leaving Agni unencumbered.

"Now..." Carried aloft by flames which sprouted from the tips of his legs, Agni flew over to the fort's shattered window. He stepped through the metal frame, which melted as he approached, and looked down at the four girls, the teythen, and the Apocra before him.

Mina felt her heart stop as the lich's eye socket passed over her. Not even the slightest glimmer of recognition passed over his features. He seemed almost bored by those around him, if a little confused. The waves of heat radiating off Agni's body caused Mina to break into a sweat and she saw perspiration glistening on the others' skin as well. Vincent's hand went to his sword, while his eyes narrowed on the lich. Yuka stood in wide eyed horror, while Celine and Daryl merely gaped at the monstrosity standing before them.

"Reinforcements? Hmmm...no..." Agni snickered, "Likely just fools who got caught in the crossfire. And among them..." he stepped down onto the floor, lowering his elongated skull until it was level with Yuka's head, "is my quarry." Agni reached out his hand to touch Yuka's cheek, however before he could, the air whistled and Vincent's blade sliced through his arm.

Vincent pushed Yuka onto her back and flicked lava from his red hot blade before raising both hands at Agni. The air distorted and small cracks formed in Agni's bones, however the lich was unmoved. He merely waited as lava poured out of his severed bones, forming new skeletal claws around his human arm.

"What are you doing?!" Vincent yelled, without breaking his gaze from Agni, "Don't just sit there gaping! Run! Get out of here and try to stay alive!" he snarled, bringing his sword up again to try and cleave Agni's skull in two, only to have the lich catch it.

Feeling the world start to move around her once again, Mina grabbed Celine and pulled her away from Vincent and Agni. Shaking Celine out of her shock, Mina nodded at Yuka and together they helped the awestruck neeg to her feet, but as they were scrambling over to Daryl and Feo, a spurt of lava shot forth from Agni's free hand and hit the stone above the door leading outside. Stone and wood melded together into a solid mass from the heat of the lava.

"I think not," Agni chuckled, grabbing Vincent by the throat, his fingers burning into the teythen's pale flesh. Despite biting his lip to hold in a shriek, Vincent narrowed his eyes and a pair of lupine heads burst out of his shoulders and bit into Agni's hand. The lich didn't even flinch. "You seem quite proud of that sword arm of yours, boy," Agni smirked. The lich raised a single finger, which sparked to life with crimson flames.

"Vincent, look out! He's going to cut you!" Mina shrieked at the top of her lungs.

The teythen twisted in Agni's grasp as the lich clawed at the air in front of Vincent's right arm. A fiery slash appeared in the air and sliced through his arm, which fell to the ground, still holding his sword.

Vincent's face was a mask of agony as the two stumps began to smolder, however he raised his legs and kicked Agni's chest. The air distorted and he pushed Agni back a fraction of an inch. However, it was enough to loosen his grip and he slipped free, sweeping his left hand over the ground and prying his sword free before putting himself between the lich and the four girls.

Flipping his blade around so that he held the sword backhanded, Vincent leapt at Agni and buried it in the lich's skull. With only a flick of his wrist, Agni hurled Vincent into the still smoldering back wall, where the door used to be.

"You first, then the girls," Agni smirked and held up a hand. Flames began to swirl in his palms, while the girls stood and watched, frozen in place.

Mina felt time slow around her. She dropped to her knees while Celine, Yuka, and Daryl huddled around Feo. To Mina's eyes, the walls of the fortress dissolved until the area behind Agni was a field engulfed in flames, with the sky scorched red from fire in the distance. Turning to Vincent, she didn't see a teythen, but a young woman, scowling at the lich, her bright orange hair disheveled and hanging limply down to her waist. Her mouth was moving and the words rang in her ears.

"Run! Get to safety!"

Then the scene faded away and Vincent's voice cut through her delusion. "Get out of here!" Vincent yelled, raising his bruised hand in Agni's direction.

"Not again," Mina felt herself whisper. She felt anger well up within her and tears trickled down her cheeks, but rather than calling heat to her fingertips, she focused her mind on the cold air that swirled in through the window.

Wind swirled around her hands and she clasped them together, squeezing her stomach and pouring all of her energy into her fingertips as she forced the wind to go faster, while still keeping it compressed into her palms. She saw the flames in Agni's hands settle however before he could attack, Mina threw her own hands out, aimed up at Agni. Compressed air burst forth from Mina's palms, and the force managed to slightly tilt Agni's hands upwards. Flames poured out of the lich's hands and tore a hole through the wall and ceiling just above Vincent's head, melting the stone and revealing the starlit night sky with the moon high above them.

Everyone's eyes fell on Mina. Pivoting in place to face her, Agni's features twisted into a cruel smirk. "Was I mistaken?" he murmured, stroking the bottom of his monstrous jaw, "Haha...reinforcements or not, I'd better make sure you don't get in my way again," the lich sneered, raising his hand at the four girls and Apocra, while Mina fell backwards into Celine's arms.

"No!" Vincent yelled, trying to limp his way over to the girls, only to fall forward on unsteady legs.

"Princess!" Celine yelled, as Yuka pulled out two spheres of water held together by a metal frame. Daryl stepped forward, closed her eyes, and threw her hands out, forming a thin barrier of light in front of them, while Yuka tossed her aquades at Agni.

The fire in the lich's hand hit the aquades as the frames fell off, almost immediately dousing the flames. However the hot steam which formed from them slammed against Daryl's barrier and it cracked all the way through within seconds, before dissolving from the hot, wet air. The four girls closed their eyes and prepared for the worst, however all they heard was a pitiable cry.

Mina opened her eyes and saw that the griffon, Feo, had pulled them close to him with his charred wing and shielded them with his body. Pink burns rose on the griffon's skin where his fur had been seared away and the girls looked from Feo to Agni.

"Stubborn fools," Agni sneered, "Regardless, I cannot forget why I came here," he said, reaching through the mist and grabbing Yuka by the scruff of her shirt. "You're coming with me, girl. Together, we're going to recreate Canak's legacy," Agni smirked, holding his face close to hers.

"Like the Goetian hells we will!" Yuka shouted, "Ya were gonna incinerate us!"

"Not you...just them," Agni jutted his thumb in Mina and the others' direction. "But that is beside the point. Come with me...I know you have broken from Aeon. With your help, we can achieve Canak's dream. And I can reunite you two."

"Whadda ya take me for...an idjit?" Yuka sneered and slashed at Agni's skull with her saw blade. Agni's skull flared and the blade melted off the string holding it.

"Another option, then," Agni chuckled, "Come with me...or I reduce them to ashes," he pointed to Vincent and the three girls.

"Don't you dare, Yuka!" Vincent yelled, stumbling to his feet.

"He's just going to kill us anyway!" Mina yelped, still clutching to Celine for support. "Don't!"

"Yuka!" Daryl yelled, "I...I don't want to die, but...but..." she stammered. "This isn't the way!"

"Decision time," Agni held out his hand, still glowing bright red, at the five of them. "What will it be?"

Yuka's eyes darted from left to right and she glanced over at her friends, whose faces were masks of panic and fear. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, a stream of concentrated water shot out of the air and tore through Agni's hand. A chair made of gold coins rose out of the ground and supported Yuka as she fell backwards, while a solid gold hammer, easily twice Agni's size came down on top of the lich.

"Jus in time, wouldn youse'ay, sonny?" an elderly voice which whistled as it spoke appeared from above. Vincent and the girls looked up and Deminos, clad in his orange suit and cloak next to a small, buck toothed, green skinned man with a set of money belts at his waist, tiny golden wings on his back, and black hair that stood up in a single spike descending on a cloud of gold coins.

Chronicles of the Frozen Shade

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

State of Serano: 12-10-2014

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Chapter 20.5: Clash